Need help with Appenzeller Spitzhauben

[Deerlix]

From the sound of it, the older one was not on board with this scheme whatsoever. The "horrible" sound was probably a chicken growl, meaning "warning, leave, or I will pound you into the ground."

So yes, the small chick was scared speechless.

The age difference is just too much. But be on the look out for one of the others that may be much more laid back than any of the others. You could try it again if you can find a real easy going candidate.

Bantambird has a good suggestion. Why not bring the cage indoors and let the chick hang out with humans for a few weeks until it gets some size? Human companionship will work in a pinch to placate a lonely chicken.

If it is a solo chick, can you have a little house chicken until it is big enough? I have had solo chicks hatch from botched hatches, and since my DH is nearly homebound, he played mommy with the little one until it could join the others. It means petting and snuggling with them often. We had a hand mirror in there and an old mop head for it to hide under like a mommy hen, and my mother in law made diapers for it.....

that sounds fun and amazing! I will do that

 

[Deerlix]

If it is a solo chick, can you have a little house chicken until it is big enough? I have had solo chicks hatch from botched hatches, and since my DH is nearly homebound, he played mommy with the little one until it could join the others. It means petting and snuggling with them often. We had a hand mirror in there and an old mop head for it to hide under like a mommy hen, and my mother in law made diapers for it.....

From the sound of it, the older one was not on board with this scheme whatsoever. The "horrible" sound was probably a chicken growl, meaning "warning, leave, or I will pound you into the ground."

So yes, the small chick was scared speechless.

The age difference is just too much. But be on the look out for one of the others that may be much more laid back than any of the others. You could try it again if you can find a real easy going candidate.

Bantambird has a good suggestion. Why not bring the cage indoors and let the chick hang out with humans for a few weeks until it gets some size? Human companionship will work in a pinch to placate a lonely chicken.

What do I do at night? Do i just put the lamp in the big cage with her?

 

[Bantambird]

Sure, you can do that. We had our solo chick in the living room so he was in the middle of everything. My DH would sit watching TV with the chick on his lap napping so happy. The chick was named Merlin and eventually moved outside with the rest.

 

[Bantambird]

Use a red lamp, it is easier to sleep than the white or yellow ones. There is also the post on the mother hen heat pad, which is neat too, and let's them have a normal sleep schedule. Birds will sleep when it is dark so this is why heaters and pads are nice for indoors. You can even buy cloth diapers for chickens or get patterns for them online. These work by way of a little pouch that is held away from the vent where the poop drops and then later you can flip it into the toilet.

 

[Deerlix]

Use a red lamp, it is easier to sleep than the white or yellow ones. There is also the post on the mother hen heat pad, which is neat too, and let's them have a normal sleep schedule. Birds will sleep when it is dark so this is why heaters and pads are nice for indoors. You can even buy cloth diapers for chickens or get patterns for them online. These work by way of a little pouch that is held away from the vent where the poop drops and then later you can flip it into the toilet.

She will chirp in the night when we are asleep, is there anything we could do to maybe make her stop chirping in the night?

 

[Bantambird]

If you have a heat pad instead it will be dark and she should sleep. Give her something to snuggle, like an old mop head, those old fashioned cotton wringer ones or something similar she can snuggle into. We also put a mirror in there. Birds like mirrors and looking at themselves. @Blooiehas a thread on the mama heat pad, use the ones that don't turn off after 2 hours, and she illustrated a clever way to seal them up using press n seal wrap. Birds will go to sleep in the dark, just like covering up the parakeet cage in the evening before bed.

 

[Deerlix]

If you have a heat pad instead it will be dark and she should sleep. Give her something to snuggle, like an old mop head, those old fashioned cotton wringer ones or something similar she can snuggle into. We also put a mirror in there. Birds like mirrors and looking at themselves. @Blooie has a thread on the mama heat pad, use the ones that don't turn off after 2 hours, and she illustrated a clever way to seal them up using press n seal wrap. Birds will go to sleep in the dark, just like covering up the parakeet cage in the evening before bed.

Is it okay if I put her in the coop? ive done it before and nothing bad has happend. Usually the chickens are so tired they dont pay attention to her in the night and its pretty warm, I think she usually snuggles with the docile chicken

 

[Bantambird]

You can try but make sure you keep an eye on her because they can kill a chick pretty fast. Chickens do cannibalize each other sometimes and it is really heartbreaking. If they Peck her and draw blood, they may kill her. Or she will integrate and be fine. You will need to watch! Watch watch! If she makes a friend that she can hang with that will be great. You could get her in the morning if you like before the others wake up maybe? There are so many variables here it is hard to say what to do!

 

[azygous]

You won't know if something will or won't work until you try it. It's how you learn about chickens.

Whatever you do, though, stick around long enough to make sure the chick is okay.

You can rig a heating pad cave in the coop, too. But I'm still concerned the older ones could hurt this little one. All it takes is one peck with a strong beak, and a chick can be scalped. That happened to a chick of mine five years ago. It was a very bad injury. Trust me. You want to avoid that.

Bantambird beat me to it, so my post will just reinforce that post.

 

[Deerlix]

You won't know if something will or won't work until you try it. It's how you learn about chickens.

Whatever you do, though, stick around long enough to make sure the chick is okay.

You can rig a heating pad cave in the coop, too. But I'm still concerned the older ones could hurt this little one. All it takes is one peck with a strong beak, and a chick can be scalped. That happened to a chick of mine five years ago. It was a very bad injury. Trust me. You want to avoid that.

Bantambird beat me to it, so my post will just reinforce that post.

You can try but make sure you keep an eye on her because they can kill a chick pretty fast. Chickens do cannibalize each other sometimes and it is really heartbreaking. If they Peck her and draw blood, they may kill her. Or she will integrate and be fine. You will need to watch! Watch watch! If she makes a friend that she can hang with that will be great. You could get her in the morning if you like before the others wake up maybe? There are so many variables here it is hard to say what to do!

how long should I stay by the coop after dark? the chickens usually go to bed at 8:10pm (Central time) and I like to put her in at 9:30pm. When her friend died I put her in the coop always at that time for about 4 days straight